Adventures with Sunchokes

Have you ever heard of a sunchoke? They're the same thing as a Jerusalem artichoke. I hadn't heard of either until recently, and they've been on my list of things to try for my 2012 Food Challenge. They aren't from Jerusalem, nor are they related to artichokes. Sunchokes are in the sunflower family and are native to North America.

Fascinatingly enough, in my research (on good ol' Wikipedia) I discovered that the sunchoke gained notoriety in the 1980's when they became part of an agricultural pyramid scheme. Apparently farmers in the midwest were coerced into believing that sunchokes were the next big thing in the tuber world, and many started planting and selling the seeds to those lower on the pyramid. This didn't work out well- obviously- since sunchokes haven't really replaced potatoes or yams on the American table.

 I acquired a few fresh sunchokes yesterday from Full Circle Farms, and did some googling to figure out what to do with them. Most recipes compared them to potatoes, and since I had two giant leeks and an armful of russet potatoes, I decided to incorporate them into a potato leek soup.

I peeled and sliced the sunchokes and added them to chicken broth along with sauteed leeks and chunks of potato. After simmering for about 30 minutes, I blended everything with an immersion blender. I also added a bag of frozen spinach to make the soup pretty and green (and healthier, I suppose). I finished the soup with a couple cups of whole milk, a dollop of sour cream and some heavy dashes of cayenne pepper.

Before I pureed the sunchoke in with the potatoes, I sampled a piece. It was beigy-grey and had a texture and flavor similar to artichoke hearts. It was a notable flavor in the soup, too... somewhat nutty and mostly similar to artichoke heart, but without the fun tang. I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think I'll be going out of my way to buy sunchokes in the future. It wasn't overly impressive. That said, I'd like to try it again- perhaps cooked by a professional chef in a different way. 

Have you tried sunchoke? How was it served?